A Chance

Somehow, I managed to not have anything planned for an entire afternoon. Briefly considered staying home and tying some flies or something, but it seemed pretty clear that I need to take advantage of the opportunity and get out of the house. Luckily, the wife agreed.

The stream was in great shape until I passed a little feeder stream which colored the water. Before committing any further to the downstream section I stopped to see if the fish were going to be willing to play. The stream isn't too deep, so a dry-dropper system usually works pretty well. I chose an 'indicator' Chernobyl Ant, tied off the bend about 25"-30" of 5x tippet to a Bulletproof San Juan Worm, another 12" of 6x to a bead-head Prince Nymph to the whole rid down. The rig casts better than most would assume and it didn't take long to find a willing fish to come to the SJW.

That was enough for me to know I'd have a chance further down, so I wrapped my leader around my reel and hooked my last fly to the stripping guide to make the walk. The clouds were threatening, but I have a rain slicker in my vest just in case. It's this kind of insurance that I would miss if I decided to lose the vest. Yes, I do carry more gear than anyone really needs for a day of fishing, but I don't forget things as often because it's all in my vest. 

Once I reached my intended turn around I spotted a fish rising just a little further down. There were some obstacles that I'd need to climb over, but a rising fish seemed like it was worth it. In the process of getting into position I took too long and the fish stopped rising. I hoped it had more to do with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds than my intrusion on his spot. I worked my way a little lower where I could cast to another likely spot but keep an eye out for his return. A couple of fish tried to distract me while I waited.

Right when the sun ducked behind a new bank of clouds I spotted a nose come up to sip a Blue Winged Olive from the surface. I clipped off the dry-dropper rig and added some 6x to the end of my leader while he continued to make a living at the tail end of the riffle. There were two more fish just above him that seemed to be of a smaller size also coming up. A Para-Quill seemed like a good choice, so I tied one on with an improved clinch knot and sent my first cast well behind the fish to try and gauge the distance. Now for the real deal, one false cast to make sure the fly was dry well behind where the fish was feeding so I didn't spook him, then I dropped the fly two feet in from of him and slightly off to the side. I raised the rod tip once his nose was back in the water after the take, sure that my 4wt fiberglass rod would protect the delicate tippet. I did my best to play him out below the other risers and it didn't take long to get him in the bottom of the net. 

I managed to miss and spook one of the other risers, but brought the lead little fish to hand before moving upstream and changing back to my dry-dropper rig. For a change, I decided to cross the stream below a couple of big pools and try fishing them from the opposite side. While this vantage point reduced my ability to see into the water, it helped conceal me from the fish who were ready and willing to try my Prince Nymph on for size.

It was in this stretch that I lost count of how many fish had been fooled. Nothing of size, but all healthy, eager browns. Enough fish seemed to prefer the Prince that I exchanged the SJW for a small pheasant tail. Once above the dirty feeder creek I fished the series of beaver dams finding fish in each one. These are a new addition to the stream, and while I enjoy fishing them the landowners have plans for removal that are already in motion. Either way, I'm just glad to have a chance to chase fish here and am thankful that the landowner has opened it up for anyone to have a chance at having such a great day. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Back to Fishing

It's been way too long since I've been fishing. This is the thought that's been keeping me awake more and more throughout the month of October, a month in which I didn't fish at all, especially since the white stuff started creeping down the mountain. So, despite getting home late on Halloween and the fact that no one wanted to go with me, come hell or high-water I was going fishing to start November out on the right foot. So the only thing keeping me awake last night was the decision of where to go. So I tried to weigh my options (should I fish a stream? which? a lake? kick-boat?.....) as I slowly got down to getting a couple of hours before light. 

Pretty cool to see wild turkeys

Finally, I was heading out the door with enough fishing gear to fish no matter what. I brought the backpack loaded with everything I needed for a hike. But, just in case, I also brought the waders and everything I'd need to hit a stream for a back up plan. Once I reached the jumping off point I noticed that I was above the snow line and the wind was making a valiant effort to flip my car. Typical Kidder attitude took over and I mounted up and started on the hike. 

The hike wasn't too bad since the deepest snow was only a few inches, but I knew the hike out would be a muddy mess. Along the trail there are a couple of small ponds where I swear I've seen fish out of the corner of my eye but they always seem to disappear before I can get a second look. Well today those fish materialized in the half light of dawn and I even hooked one before moving on towards my intended destination (not without promises of another try on the way out of course, more on that later). 

Kink of a weird pic, but there's fish in that hole

Once I reached the small reservoir that was my main objective for the day I noticed that the summer weed beds were still out in force and the water was lower than the last time I was here. That's not a very good combination as it leaves very little of the water table open for fishing, especially since I was stuck to shore fishing. I hurried over to a spot where I've been pretty successful and spooked the only fish in the neighborhood (a nice brook trout that I'd have liked to had a closer inspection of). I continued fishing my way around the small reservoir, but I only spotted two other fish and had no success. Thoughts of the back-up plan resurfaced and if I'd have been on the right side of the water for a quick escape this story would've ended very differently. As it was, I was on the far side, away from the trail, and although it would make my escape slower I decided to keep close to the water to keep an eye out for anything that might change my fortunes. The beaver lodge that made an outcropping far enough into the water to give me access to deeper water was exactly what I needed and after tying on yet another new fly I had a nice brookie follow. On the second cast I let the simi-seal leech fall through the water column a little longer and it was more than he could stand.

Mighty fine brookie

After reviving and releasing the beauty I made a couple more casts from the lodge, making sure to let the fly sink as long as possible, and picked up another fish. This time it was a decent little cutthroat and I was thinking that my day was finally picking up. 

I love the spot pattern

Too bad no one told the fish. Those were the only two fish that would come to hand from this reservoir today, so I made the muddy hike back out to the car. Along the way I stopped at one of the ponds but the fish had gone back through the worm-hole and were nowhere to be found (where could they go, the water's only a foot deep at best?) but followed the water up the hill to find a cool little waterfall before finding the car.

It seemed a bit bigger in person...

It was getting a little late to make the drive to a stream that I've been itching to fish, so I elected instead to fish one of the many small reservoirs in the area that I often overlook. I knew the fish probably wouldn't be large ("probably", isn't that the great part of fishing? We never really know) but figured that I might be able to scare up a few more before heading home. I was right, and I landed quite a few on my leech before they started surfacing. Of course I made the switch to a dry and enjoyed casting to riseforms and watching the small rainbows inhale my Parachute Zebra Midge until it was past time to head home. It felt great to fish again! Hope you can get out, be safe, and enjoy nature.

- Kidder

A good place to finish the day